The Histone-Deacetylase Inhibitor SAHA Potentiates Pro-Apoptotic Effects of 5-Fluorouracil and Irinotecan in Hepatoma Cells

Treatment for advanced stages of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unsatisfactory. While 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and Irinotecan are first-line treatment options for other gastrointestinal tumors, the effect on HCCs is low. Previously, histone-deacetylase inhibitors (HDAC-I) like suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) showed anti-tumoral activities in a variety of human cancers in vitro and in vivo. Here, we investigated the effect of a combination of 5-FU, Irinotecan and SAHA on growth inhibition and apoptosis induction of HCC cell lines. HepG2, Hep1B and MH–7777A hepatoma cell lines and human foreskin fibrob…